The Pulse
July 22, 2024

The Bonnie Doon Shopping Centre appears to have escaped the closures and empty storefronts that plague many urban malls by focusing on specialty stores and building a community, through vendors like the Night of Artists Gallery and its yearly art walk and gala.

"You have to not just be cookie cutter and Bonnie Doon is a real unique centre," Tammy Abbott, general manager of the mall for its owner, Morguard, told Taproot. "It's been around since 1958. It started as a strip (mall) centre, and it's evolved from there."

The Bonnie Doon Shopping Centre was once Edmonton's main mall and had some of the biggest national chains, Abbott said. Then, the openings of Southgate Mall (1970) and West Edmonton Mall (1981) saw Bonnie Doon slowly become overshadowed. "So we kind of were the highest of the high and then became the lowest of the low," she said.

In 2016, Sears, one of the mall's anchor tenants, pulled up and left. In 2015, Target left as well. After the Sears departure, the mall announced it was working on a redevelopment. In 2019 city council approved a Morguard proposal to redevelop the 12.4 acre site into a high-density residential and commercial development, with some suggesting work could begin quickly. But Abbott said those plans looked ahead 25 years, and after the COVID-19 pandemic they are on hold.

The pandemic spurred further changes at the mall. Managers switched the mall's focus from retail specifically to community-based, artisanal, and unique offerings. Now you can find everything from art galleries to participatory activities, like the Radio Control Racers racetrack, and the Edmonton Train Collector's Association, as well as specialty stores like Priya's Fashions, a bridal store, and MaKami College, which offers courses in massage therapy, security training, and more in the space that was once the Sears store.

"It's just bringing in different life to the centre, and I think people are kind of enamoured with Bonnie Doon," Abbott said.

Bonnie Doon Shopping Centre attracts around three million people annually, a number that could grow by another million this year, Abbott said, thanks to the Valley Line LRT stop which opened beside the mall in 2023. Abbott said the mall invested $2 million in upgrades to connect to the LRT stop to make a welcoming environment where people want to stay.

A staple of the Bonnie Doon Centre's community is the Night of Artists Gallery, which opened its mall storefront in 2022. Phil Alain started the Night of Artists as a yearly event, which took place in St. Albert and started in 1997. He wanted to do something different and opened the gallery before realizing that the mall would also be the perfect venue to continue his yearly event, which now takes place over three days and ends with a gala.

"When I got into the mall, I realized it could use some extra energy," Alain told Taproot. "The mall was very supportive."

The art walk consists of at least 125 artists, though sometimes more because groups will sign up and feature more than one artist among them. The art walk runs through the entirety of the mall, turning its hallways and gathering spaces into a huge gallery. The permanent Night of Artists gallery space at the mall hosts around 35 artists, 20 of them regulars and others that cycle to keep the gallery fresh.

• The City of Edmonton extended its extreme weather response until July 26 due to ongoing high temperatures. Water stations and various city facilities, including libraries and recreation centres, remain available for residents to cool off. The City also activated its poor air quality response as a result of wildfire smoke blanketing the area. City facilities and social services agencies will distribute N95 masks to those in need, and residents are advised to avoid outdoor activities due to the hazardous conditions.
• The City of Edmonton has banned the use and parking of shared e-scooters and e-bikes on Whyte Avenue between 112 Street and 97 Street. Riders can still cross Whyte Avenue at intersections and are encouraged to use the protected bike lane on 83 Avenue when riding in the area.
• Métis entrepreneur Shani Gwin and her communications firm pipikwan pêhtâkwan is collaborating with the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute to develop an AI tool named wâsikan kisewâtisiwin to create safer online spaces for Indigenous people by moderating comments and reducing online bias. The tool will flag hate speech and biased language, offering corrective suggestions, and is a semi-finalist for MIT's Solve 2024 Indigenous Communities Fellowship.
• A team from Western University is conducting a comprehensive study in Alberta to better understand and predict hailstorms. The research, led by Julian Brimelow of the Northern Hail Project, uses advanced technology to track hailstorms in the province and better understand what causes them. While most of the severe hailstorms in Alberta happen in the province's southern regions, researchers predict Edmonton will experience more hailstorms in the future.
• The City of Edmonton is seeking public input to update its 20-year-old Animal Licensing and Control Bylaw to better reflect current trends. A city manager said the updated bylaw should be reflective of a variety of pets, including dogs, cats, rabbits, and reptiles. Residents can provide feedback through an online survey until Aug. 11, addressing issues like pet limits, business permits for pet services, and rules for noisy or aggressive animals. The revised bylaw will be presented to city council early next year.
• Edmonton's 911 call centre was forced to quickly adopt contingency plans last week because of a global IT outage caused by an update to the CrowdStrike application, which disrupted voice-over IP call-handling systems. Emergency workers manually returned missed calls, and coordinated with other agencies to ensure no emergencies were overlooked. The system was fully restored by 4am on July 19.
• CBC's Edmonton AM producer Kashmala Fida Mohatarem spoke to local social media moderators, who play a crucial role in managing content on platforms like Facebook and Reddit. Troy Pavlek, co-host of Taproot's Speaking Municipally podcast, was among the moderators interviewed for the segment.
• Theresa Antonakis, the recently retired principal of Archbishop MacDonald High School in Edmonton, has been named Distinguished Principal of the Year by the Canadian Association of Principals. With a career spanning 39 years, Antonakis was recognized for her adaptability and commitment to student-centred education. "It's not a nine to five kind of job. But the rewards that students bring to you at the end of the day is definitely worth it," Antonakis told Postmedia in an interview.
• The Alberta government is encouraging residents to check the province's unclaimed property registry for unclaimed assets such as deposits, wages, and investment funds. Residents can search the registry, which includes nearly 350,000 items worth $154 million, via the MissingMoney portal. The registry has returned $13.8 million to more than 8,500 people since it was created in 2008.
• Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's UCP government is facing criticism after she and other government ministers accepted tickets to Edmonton Oilers playoff games, including one in a luxury box provided by MHCare, the company that imported the province's shipment of children's pain medicine. Smith defended her attendance at the games, saying that no ethics rules were broken. "I have an expectation that every elected person is going to be able to do their disclosures appropriately," Smith told reporters. NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi criticized the actions as cronyism, especially during an affordability crisis, and called for transparency on who received the tickets.
• The Tyee published a feature article examining the legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta and the impact the United Conservative Party's policies and actions have had on the province's political climate. The article highlighted an event in Calgary last month, hosted by the Calgary-Lougheed UCP Constituency Association and attended by about 500 people, during which speakers claimed the deaths of children in Alberta were caused by COVID vaccines. Premier Danielle Smith expressed support for the event on her radio show, saying that "sometimes, you do need to hear the contrarian voices."

Essentials

• 34°C: Widespread smoke. Wind becoming southeast 20 km/h gusting to 40 late in the morning. High 34. Humidex 39. UV index 8 or very high.(forecast)
• Blue: The High Level Bridge will be lit blue for World Fragile X Awareness Day. (details)
• 14-20: The Edmonton Elks lost to the Ottawa RedBlacks on July 19. The Elks remain winless this season. (details)

Correction: This file has been updated to accurately reflect details about Crowdstrike.

Here are some events happening today in the Edmonton area.

• Tri-Region Mayors' Golf Classic starting at 8am at the Stony Plain Golf Course
• Orchids Farmers' Market starting at 4:30pm at 4059 Orchards Drive SW
• Messed Up Monday starting at 6pm at Pub 1905
• Nanaimo Night Owls vs. Edmonton Riverhawks starting at 7pm at Re/Max Field

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• July 29: Blooms for Two at Bar OA Farms
• July 29: Winnipeg Sea Bears vs. the Edmonton Stingers at the Edmonton EXPO Centre
• Aug. 5-10: Hlinka Gretzky Cup at Rogers Place
• Aug. 6-10: Rock'n August at St. Albert Place

Visit the beta version of the Taproot Edmonton Calendar for many more events in the Edmonton region.